There are presently a myriad of designs for carrying cases and portable folding seats that are primarily used for outdoor activities such as picnics and beach outings. In the prior art, there is also discloses several designs for combination carrying case that can be converted to a portable seat that includes a back rest.
The combination devices generally function well when used as a carrying case but have limitations when converted to a seat and backrest. The limitation of the seat use lies primarily in not having sufficient structural integrity to withstand, for an extended time period, the stresses placed on the combination device when a human body is placed on the seat and reclined upon the backrest. If stress points on existing designs are reinforced with additional material, the utility of the case is compromised in that the added structural material adds weight and reduces the internal volume of the case. Thus, limiting the amount and type of article that can be carried with in the device.
A search of the prior art did not disclose any patents that read directly on the claims of the instant invention. However, the following U.S. patents are considered related.
______________________________________ U.S. Pat. No. INVENTOR ISSUED ______________________________________ D316,190 Sadan 16 April 1991 746,166 Sudan 24 May 1988 3,817,574 McNab 18 June 1974 3,092,224 O`Neil 4 June 1963 ______________________________________
The U.S. Pat. No. Des. 316,190 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,746,166 to Sadan disclose a portable seat and carrying case assembly. The assembly consists of first and second side wall members that are hinged together to allow a rotatable closed case position and an open seat position. On the side of each side wall member is located a pair of outward, concentric circular bearing surfaces. The projecting bearing surface of one side matches the recessed bearing surface of the other side. When these two sides are coupled to each other, they form a hinged connection therebetween. A bottom member forms a part of and rotatably supports the two side wall members in their coupled position.
The U.S. Pat. No. 3,817,574 to McNab discloses a combined seating and container device. The device consists of two opposed side walls, end walls and a bottom wall. The top of each side wall opens so that two receptacles are provided. Beneath the bottom wall are extensions of the inner side walls which are interconnected outwardly by living hinges. In the carrying position, snap fasteners at the upper inner ends of the sidewalls are engaged to hold the two side walls together. These fasteners are easily pulled apart when the device is to be converted to the seating position. In the seating position, one of the sidewalls serves as the seat, while the other acts as the backrest.
The U.S. Pat. No. 3,092,224 to O'Neil discloses a combination beach bag and seat. The combination consists of first and second hollow structures each having a pair of spaced sidewalls that are joined by wall means extending therebetween. The sidewalls and wall means each have free edges which join to define the open mouth of the hollow structure. The structure sidewalls can be placed with the free edges so that the two structures coact to form a closed receptacle for carrying articles.
In summary, none of the prior art patents particularly disclosed a structure of transverse ribs having a horizontal bottom edge that allow the devices to be placed in an upright position. Additionally, the structural elements used in the instant invention to maintain the first and second articulated sections in an open or closed positions were not disclosed.